Pete Townshend asked Peter Frampton to replace him in The Who

On October 20, 2020, 's memoir was released Peter Frampton titled “Do You Feel Like I Do?”. Among the many tasty episodes of his life that are narrated there, as reported by the American magazine Rolling Stone, there is also the one that tells when, in the mid-eighties, the guitarist of the Who Pete Townshend he called him to ask him to take his place in the English band

At the time the career of the guitarist – who turns 74 today – was not experiencing a particularly happy moment, however, although he was naturally flattered by the proposal he received, he was not entirely convinced that it was a good idea to go on stage together with Roger Daltrey And John Entwistle in place of Townshend.

This, to follow, is what is told in his volume by Peter Frampton: “I get this call from England, saying, 'I've decided I'm not going to tour with the Who anymore. I'm still going to write the songs, but I want you to take my place'… I said, 'Wait a minute , Pete. Did you talk to Roger or the others about it?' And he's like, 'Not yet, I'll talk to them about it tomorrow.' And I'm like, 'Okay, why don't you call me back when you've talked to them.'”

Frampton recalls telling his then-wife: “It doesn't convince me. It doesn't make much sense.” Although he clearly considered the offer a great honor, “I would have loved to play with the Who, but with Pete in the band, not alone.” What Peter Frampton was experiencing was a truly unhappy period in his career: “After three weeks my wife said, 'For God's sake, call him!'” Frampton then called him: “I had to make him understand, you've put me in trouble for three weeks. (…) It hasn't been a good three weeks for me. He was very apologetic, saying, 'I'm sorry, I never should have done that.'”

A few months later the two met backstage at a concert Bruce Springsteenbut the thing had already fallen into oblivion, at least for Pete Townshend. “I love Pete very much,” Frampton explained. “I have no idea what was going on in his life at that time. I don't even know if he remembers calling me.”